The least consequential government shutdown we can recall may be near a resolution. All of the tiresome partisan fingerpointing and blame shifting aside, there are a few items to recall about shutdowns, none of them good:

The false alarm about an incoming ballistic missile that sent Hawaii residents scrambling for cover over the weekend still has state officials grasping for answers as to how things went so terribly wrong.

What do federal bureaucrats think of the private sector workers they regulate? According to an investigation by the Cause of Action Institute, not much. Following a tip from a whistleblower, the Institute put in a freedom of information request to NOAA, and got a copy of the agency's secret internal newsletter.

We are big supporters of the President's drive to cut unnecessary, costly regulations. While the bulk of the attention is given to how regulations harm business, the less well known, but even more annoying, regulations affect us personally, every day.